Japan vs Korea DPR

Tokyo’s New National Stadium forms the backdrop for an exciting 2026 World Cup qualifier between Japan and Korea DPR.

Japan’s pursuit of their eighth consecutive World Cup appearance has been off to a flying start as they’ve won their opening two qualifying matches against Syria and Myanmar via an identical 5-0 scoreline. Delivering action from the get-go, they’ve netted precisely three first-half goals in both victories, highlighting the potential for a quick-fire start. However, after missing out on continental glory at the recently completed Asian Cup, Hajime Moriyasu’s men will be out to make amends against a Korea DPR side they lost to 1-0 in their last World Cup qualifier. But it was way back in 2011. This ‘Samurai Blue’ side looks quite different, especially at home, where they’ve won their last eight internationals, scoring 4+ goals on seven occasions.

On the other hand, Korea DPR got their qualifying Group B campaign off to a dismal start, slumping to a 1-0 defeat to Syria before steamrolling to a landslide 6-1 triumph at minnows Myanmar last time out. That success knocked them down from an underwhelming four-game winless run (D2, L2) and equaled their goals tally from their eight previous outings combined. But Jong Il-gwan’s lads have stuttered against better-ranked sides, especially on the road, scoring just once on three World Cup qualifying travels (D1, L2) before easing past Myanmar. Japanese soil has not been a happy hunting ground for the Koreans, considering they’ve failed to win any of their seven visits to the country since 1985 (D2, L5), netting under 1.5 goals each time.